Untitled
by mx33
Summary: A sort of a preview of things to come. When we last heard of Faye she was wandering down a river. The story continues, but this is sort of a setup story of things to come, which explains the reason why it's called "Untitled." Work In Progress...
1. Untitled 1

1. The waves hit the inlet beach, as a tall figure waited. He had been waiting for days and until then, nothing had happened. He wondered a bit whether he was at the right spot, so he decided to walk back to the road where his motorcycle was parked and double check the location. 

The waves hit once more, but this time they brought something with them: the body of a young woman. Her condition was deplorable. What once was a body suit, now was nothing more than rags, still, the material held tight against her hips, arms and legs, as well as her chest and back. The tide was rising and a storm pointed in the horizon; it had been a rather rainy week. The waves, now a lot stronger than before, hit her limp body as if it were an old rag doll. As she would when awakening from a deep slumber, she opened her eyes and looked at the sky, her lips parted and she got a mouthful of water thrown in her face. 

She pushed herself up, gagging and gasping, her muscles ached from God knows what, as the waves hit her face again, she tried to gather some sort of rational thought. Finding out she couldn't was even more panicking than the immense waves that kept on wanting to drown her; all she _did_ find was pain. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

2. Somewhere far away from there, three men were in a room. One of them, the shorter one, paced around, grunting and muttering every now and then. The other two, one sitting in a wheelchair and with a helmet on his head, were standing in front of a large machine. 

"How much longer is this gonna take?" asked Logan.   
"I don't know, Logan. If she doesn't user her powers, we may never find her," Xavier said.   
"Don't say that. I'm enhancing Cerebro's field range," said Tom. "Maybe we'll find her now."   
"Tom, you know you're in no condition to be abusing your powers," Xavier warned.   
"I'm good," Tom answered, widening Cerebro's search.   
_Always so damn cocky,_ Logan thought. 

Logan looked at him. He was dressed funny. The tall, lanky man was wearing khaki cargo pants that dropped at his feet and a faded, blue shirt that looked much too big for him. They were all borrowed from Scott, who was about the same height as him. His light blue hair showed that he had just woken up. 

Tom had been in surgery for the past two and a half weeks. Professor Xavier, with the help of one of his colleagues, who took over after his disappearance, as well as Hank McCoy and Jean Grey, practically reconstructed Tom's internal system. When he got electrocuted, something inside him snapped, and his body started rejecting the very chemicals and machines that had been keeping him alive for years. As Tom recovered from the various surgeries, Logan, Xavier and the rest of the household continued searching for Faye. Logan and Irvine tried following the river that she fell on, but it kept on branching out many times, meeting out with other rivers, dying out, and finally, it fell into the sea. About two days before, Tom had woken up, but his muscles were atrophied, so Hank and Forge built him a small machine that would allow him to walk around until he had enough strength to do it on his own. 

Jeff entered the room, feeling the way with his walking stick. Suddenly, he bumped into Logan. 

"Oh, sorry, Logan," Jeff said, smiling. "I didn't see you there."   
"Same old bloody joke," said Tom. "Don't you ever get tired of it?"   
"Oh, no. I always have my fill of fun with it." 

Tom laughed heartily as he continued to widen Cerebro's power. Through his hands, he focused his energy into the machine. He kept it going, ignoring the blinding headache and the dizziness he was feeling. Unfortunately, Xavier could feel it. 

"I'm stopping it for now," said Xavier, taking the helmet off.   
"WHAT?!?" Tom and Logan asked at the same time.   
"You're quitting?" Tom continued.   
"You're tired, Tom," said Xavier, wheeling his chair away from Cerebro. "You should rest."   
"Well, I'm gonna look for her," said Logan. "I ain't gonna do nothin' while she's alone out there."   
"You're a bloody show-off, you know that?" said Tom. "We're here busting our arse trying to find her too."   
"I never said ya weren't."   
"Whatever, mate. I am not going to sit here and get chewed off by the likes of you. Anyway, she's not a bloody child. She can take care of herself, ya know."   
"She's alone, Tom. Can't ya get that on yer thick head? Whenever she's alone shit happens, and ya know that. Now, she don't have you, or anyone to take care o'er. All she has is Daniel."   
"Thank God for that. At least it's not you."   
"Ya wanna say that again, bub?" Logan said, his eyes darkening and a slow *SNIKT* was heard.   
"At least it's not you," Tom confronted, sounding out each word. 

Logan grunted but Jeff pushed them aside. 

"All right! Knock it off!! We have to keep our cool," he said, eyeing Logan as he walked toward the exit. "Besides, we have to see the others off. They're about to leave, and they care about Faye too. Now, come on, and keep it together so we won't worry them." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

3. She looked around. _Where was she???_ She tried getting up and walking but her leg hurt too much. _Was it broken?_ Probably considering the state her clothes were in, she must have been through a lot. As she pulled herself along the beach like an invalid, the waves hit her once more and her brain was finally lucid enough to register the immense amount of pain that the salt water inflicted on the open wounds sprinkled around every part of her body. Warm blood started gushing from a particularly big one on her shoulder. As she crawled her way out of the water and further into the inlet, ignoring the thick sand that got into her wounds, stuck on her skin, and blinded her, she started gathering thoughts of herself and of her current situation. 

_Where am I?_ she thought. _What am I doing here? How did I get here? Why am I here? What happened to me?????_

A thousand more questions followed those and their answers seemed to get farther and farther away, and her ordeal to get to safety seemed to never end. Rain started pouring, the sea got angry and the wind howled to show everyone that he was unbeatable. She pulled herself in a concave rock wall and tried to think of a solution. Nothing came... 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

4. Meanwhile, the tall figure was getting impatient. He looked at the sky and growled. He shifted his eyes to the map and saw that there was a rest area a few miles from there. He could find shelter there, or contact Irene and check the right place. Either way it was better than what he was doing now. He started walking farther down the road. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

5. "Are you sure we can't make you stay with us?" asked Xavier.   
"Thanks, but no thanks, mate. This ain't our territory," said Irvine.   
"Yeah, we really wanted to lend a hand with the reconstruction of your home, but it's starting to get a bit too confining. Although I wouldn't mind having cutie here go around with me," said Cathy, stroking Beast's fur, which made him blush. 

As Hans and Sara were walking out, they stopped to bid Jeff farewell. 

"I hope you find her soon," said Sara, hugging Jeff.   
"We will. Are you kids going to be alright by yourselves?" he asked.   
"Yeah, don't worry. We always managed all right, we can do it again," said Hans.   
"Oh, I'll stick around here, so if you guys ever need anything you know where to find me."   
"We'll remember that," Hans said. 

They walked out, hand in hand, knowing everything would be okay; they had each other and that's all that mattered right now. 

"Jeffrey. We'll be leaving you as well, mate," said Cathy.   
"O'Malley. Take care of this one. Keep him out of trouble," he said, pointing to Irvine.   
"Oh, that'll be the day," she said, smiling. 

Irvine didn't hear them talking, since all the girls in the Institute were talking and flirting with him. Cathy looked at them and shook her head. 

"He'll never change," she said, as Jeff laughed. "Thomas. It's been a pleasure."   
"Likewise," he said.   
"Come on, don Juan. Time to go," Cathy called. 

Irvine kissed each of the girls' hands, pushed his cowboy hat in and waved goodbye. All the girls aw-ed at the same time. He turned and blew a kiss at them and winked. The girls sighed once more, and smiled. The boys weren't very happy with that, and the adults simply shrugged and laughed. 

They were gone, time to see another one off. Sally sat in a corner by herself. Jeff approached her, slowly. 

"I don't wanna do this, you know," she said without looking at him.   
"I know," he answered, sitting on the grass next to her.   
"Then why do I have to?"   
"It's your destiny," said Tom, approaching them.   
"Exactly," said Jeff.   
"Bull," she said, and got up. 

She started walking toward the Institute, stopped and said, "Well, if we're doing this, we better go fast. I'm getting bored already." 

Jeff smiled, got up and the three of them walked toward the Institute's front door. 

"Open a portal, Tom," asked Jeff.   
"Where to?"   
"Aavadaar."   
"Oh, God. Not again?"   
"Don't worry. A friend of mine will be waiting for her there. Zhar's agent's won't get a hold of the new Oracle." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

6. Sometime passed as the wind continued to howl playing around through the trees and the water. She felt against her body a belt with a large purse and many other pockets. With trembling fingers, she emptied their contents on the sand. She found many strange things but also many useful things. In the large purse she found a large handkerchief, which made her quickly think of her bleeding shoulder; a pocketknife, very sharp; a small black box, that looked like a radio, however, she didn't know how to use it so she tossed it; a large earpiece with a little glass visor, she looked at them strangely and found it had no good use, so she tossed it; a beautifully woven headband with a large white gem in the middle, she was going to toss this item as well, but something made her put it back on the purse. She took the handkerchief and the pocketknife and put together a quick bandage for her shoulder. She got up and unbuckled the torn cloth that went around her neck and exposed her wounded shoulder; with the knife, she tore the rags around it and tied the handkerchief tightly to stop the bleeding. Once that was done, she went back to the contents of the smaller pockets. In one of them, she found a small earpiece, like the ones used in spy movies, she placed one end on her ear and the other she held up to her mouth. 

"Hello?" she tried. "Can somebody help me? I don't know where I am. To tell the truth, I don't know who I am either." 

The small earpiece made a static noise. She groaned and threw it away. She looked inside the rest of the pockets and purses, and found a couple of blades. She wondered why she needed so many weapons, and decided that it might have been safer not to keep them after all. She was about to tightly wrap the belt around her shoulder to secure the bandage, when she found a hidden pouch on the back of the belt. She opened and reached inside; she pulled out a silver chain with a beautiful locket, with golden markings, at the end. In the back, there was an inscription. 

"To keep you from ever losing the way home.   
Love always, Logan."

_Logan?!?!_ she thought. _That name sounds so familiar, but I can't remember where I heard it before._

She held the locket tightly against her chest and searched the darkness of her mind. 

The wind howled loudly (the sea must have made fun of him), blowing things around. A particularly large branch came flying towards the rock and struck her wounded leg. She cried in pain as a thunder crashed. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

7. On the other side of the thicket, the tall figure, who was back from his journey, sat up attentively. He'd heard something, though he wasn't sure what. He listened up again, but the sound was gone. He growled, impatiently, and walked over to check. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

8. The woman sat up rubbing her aching leg. She pulled her right leg close to her body and rested her forehead on her knee; she kept her hands on the leg that hurt and wished the pain gone. She visualized that the pain vanished as her leg started glowing green... 


	2. Untitled 2

9. Back at the X-mansion, after everyone had gone their separate ways, Tom decided to check on his systems. With Xavier's permission, Tom had networked his systems to Cerebro; there were many machines and programs that could be useful to the X-men. 

Tom concentrated on the machines, despite Xavier's orders. Jean walked into Cerebro's room. 

"The professor asked me to get you away from there," she said.   
"Busted," said Tom with a smile.   
"It's true. You shouldn't strain yourself like that."   
"Well, thank you for your concern, Dr. Grey."   
"Dr. Jean Grey...I like the sound of that," she laughed. "But, seriously, you should rest."   
"I don't think I can rest knowing that Faye is out there alone. I didn't want to agree with Logan, but the bloke's right. The lass is alone with Daniel, and I can't look after her this time. She's the closest thing I've ever had to a family."   
"I know how that is," she said, looking down. "If something were to happen to any of the students, I don't know what I'd do." 

Tom smiled. A solemn silence passed through them; it was Jean who broke the silence first. 

"Maybe I can help you find her."   
"Really??? Oh, that's right, you're a telepath."   
"Well, don't get so excited. I'm not as good as Professor Xavier, so I doubt I'll find anything."   
"At least try, please."   
"Ok, here goes nothing. Maybe I'll get lucky or something."   
"Oh, bless your heart, good lass. I'll help you with the machinery." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

10. She wished the pain away, and oddly enough, when she removed her hands from her leg, it didn't hurt anymore. 

Her hand still glowed green with its energy flowing to different parts of her body. She pulled herself up and looked at the sky. The rain was subsiding, but lightning still crashed above her. 

She looked at her body and notice that some of the wounds were slowly healing. She thought that some amazing miracle had happened. As she was about to kneel down to thank the heavens, it attacked. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

"11. Uh...uh...ahhh!!!" screamed Jean.   
"What is it? What's wrong?" asked Tom.   
"I had her signal, but...,"she looked Tom, who was anxiously waiting for her next words. "It's gone. She suddenly stopped using her powers because the signal got lost too fast."   
"She's being attacked."   
"Do you know which power she was using?"   
"Healing, I think."   
"Damn, she's hurt too?"   
"See if Cerebro registered a location. I'm calling the professor."   
"Alright." 

**_Professor,_** called Jean. **_I found her. Come quick._**

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

12. She got knocked down on the sand, which fell thickly into her eyes and in her mouth. Tearing and spitting sand, she got up trying to see who was her assailant. As far as she could tell, no one was there. She stood straight and looked for whoever had pushed her; suddenly, she herd footsteps coming from behind her. With her instincts kicking in, she turned around quickly and got into fighting position. 

_What am I doing?_ she thought. _I don't even think I can fight, can I? Oh, concentrate, will ya?_

Through her stinging eyes, she saw a towering figure approaching her. She stepped back as the figure came towards her. It was extremely tall for any normal man and his hair seemed to be blond but she wasn't sure. He extended his hand to her and jumped back; her foot hitting the water alerting her that she had better find another way to escape. He came closer and she kept on walking back into the ocean. Noticing she wasn't going to go anywhere without a fight, not that he didn't expect her to, the tall figure stopped walking, kept his hand up and spoke. His strong, rough voice sounded awfully familiar to her. 

"I saw what they did to ya," he said. "With the recent mutant exposure, ya can't go nowheres without some idiot gettin' on yer case?"   
"What? Mutant exposure? What are you talking about?" she asked, puzzled.   
"If you let me give ya a hand, I'll explain everythin' to ya, darlin'," he said handing her a bottle of clean water. 

She poured some of it on her eyes and washed the sand out of her mouth; she handed the bottle back to him but he shook his head and motioned to her to keep it. Having been lost for days, she found herself really drained and thirsty, as she turned the bottle in her mouth and drank greedily. After she was filled, she emptied the bottle in her face. She felt better than ever; she looked up at the man who had been so kind to her and wondered. 

"Do you know who I am?" she asked.   
"Yeah, I do," he said, crouching down.   
"Can you tell me?"   
"Uh...later. How `bout we git ya outta this place and into some warm clothes?"   
"Can you at least tell me my name?"   
"Jade."   
"Huh...." It did have a familiar ring to it. "What's yours?"   
"Victor Creed," he said getting up and offering his hand to her one more time. This time, she eagerly took it. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

13. "Have you found anything yet, Tom?" asked Professor X.   
"I was trying to get a closer location but it's not good," he answered, gloomily.   
"Well, where is she?" asked Logan, impatiently.   
"New Jersey," he answered, annoyed.   
"Are you sure?" asked Jeff.   
"She's within a ten-mile radius from this location," said Tom, pointing to a map. "This is as accurate as I could get."   
"Good work," said Professor X. "Cyclops call the others, we'll separate into two teams. You, Jean, Kurt, and Evan will take the X-jet; Storm, Rogue, Kitty and I will take Velocity."   
"We can take the north section while you and the others work on the south; keeping both teams in touch and we'll be able to find her in no time," Cyclops answered.   
"Very well."   
"Chuck, I do hope ya're plannin' on puttin' us somewhere in those plans," said Logan.   
"I think what the bloke meant to say with his unintelligible dialect is that you'll be sorry if you don't get us included in the search parties," said Tom.   
"I'm sorry, gentlemen, but you're much too close to her, emotionally. People might get hurt, besides we're planning on doing this quietly, without uniforms or powers."   
"Well, I ain't staying," said Tom. "We all care too much about her to just stay here."   
"For the first time I agree with skinny," said Logan.   
"Fine, but you'll have to learn to control your emotions and work together...as a team," said Xavier, trying to hide a sly smile behind his folded hands. 

They looked at each other, unsure what to think of the situation. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

14. The warm water stung her wounds but it certainly felt better than what she had just gone through. She turned the water off and listened to the sounds coming from outside. As the wind howled wildly, she fought the urge to turn the water back on and drown the agonizing reality she now had to face. With every bit of strength she could find, she stepped out of the shower and into the world. Unhurriedly, she dried herself up and wrapped a towel around her body. She started brushing her long hair, when she heard a gentle rap at the door. 

"Who is it?" she called.   
"Victor. I've got you some clothes. I'm leaving them right here by the door...," he trailed off as he saw her locket on top of the table.   
"Where are you going?" she asked turning on the faucet. 

He picked up the locket and growled, remembering something that happened a long time ago. 

"Victor?" she said, shutting the water off. "Victor?" she asked again.   
"I ain't gonna leave ya here, don't worry. I just need ta take care o' some thin's," he answered pocketing the locket.   
"Sure. I'll stay here."   
"No, that ain't good. Take a walk `round town. It's small so ya ain't gonna get lost. Meet me in an hour at the park. We can get somethin' to eat and I'll `splain everythin' to ya."   
"Ok...Victor?" she said in a small voice.   
"Yeah?"   
"Thank you," he heard her say, which made him smile widely 

She heard him walk out and lock the door. Something about him bothered her. She opened the bathroom door, and picked up the bag he had left. Although he had been very nice to her and would go to any measures to get her to feel comfortable and safe, he had been very shady about what really happened to her. It was like she couldn't trust him, for some reason. 

She shrugged that feeling and started emptying the bags. She took out a nice but simple outfit and started dressing herself. He even got her some lipstick! She looked at the stuff and regretted having any ghastly thoughts of him; he truly was a great person. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

15. Sabretooth walked toward the park, dawn drew closer, and so many of the habitants of Verona Beach were already in their homes. Few shops were still opened, fortunately for him, none of them faced the lake. He walked up to a patch of trees and waited. A low-pitched, magnetic hum told him his visitor had arrived. 

"Is she well?" Magneto asked.   
"She'll live, it ain't like she ain't been in worse shape `fore."   
"Will she join us?"   
"Probably. She don't remember a thing."   
"Amnesia...how fortunate, fate might be smiling upon us, after all." 

Pyro and Gambit up behind Magneto. They whispered something on his ear and left. 

"Colossus called, he said that the X-Men are heading this way. You'll have to keep the girl away from them."   
"Can I use brute force, if I need to?" Sabretooth asked, eagerly.   
"As long as she comes out alive. We need her with us. We`ll take care of the Charles and his X-Men." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

16. She came out of the bathroom. She had brushed her hair all back, but was uncomfortable with the unusual scar she had over her left eye. She found a long jacket waiting for her on top of the bed. She looked around the room for her locket, but couldn't find anywhere, she nearly threw the small hotel room apart and still couldn't find it. She'd have to ask Victor after he came back. 

She stepped out of the hotel and looked around. Most stores were getting ready to close down. 

"Not much to see," she said to herself. 

She touched her hair and wondered if she couldn't do without all that. Walking toward a passerby, she greeted the elderly couple and asked where the nearest hair salon was. The woman tenderly pointed to a small square-ish place across the street. 

"We don't get many visitors around these parts," she said smiling. "Well, not any if you don't count the Verucci brothers. They're always visiting their cousins and hanging around that awful bar, talking loudly. Something we could all do without, if you ask me."   
"Thank you very much for the information," Jade said smiling.   
"Oh, you're welcome, dear. Such a nice girl," she said turning to her husband, as Jade crossed the street.   
"What? Speak up!" he shouted.   
"Oh, you're impossible!" 

As Jade crossed the street, a man looked at her and gasped. 

"Yo, Vini, c'mere," he said.   
"Yeah, whadda ya want?" the young, dark-haired man asked.   
"That's her."   
"Who."   
"The girl I told you `bout. The one that was stronger than anythin'."   
"That's her?"   
"Yeah. Hey, Paulie, c'mere," he called into the bar again.   
"Wait, Louie, how da ya know. Didn't you say that she had a mask on and it was dark or somethin'?"   
"Yea, but she took it off. Hey, Paulie, get the fuck over `ere, will ya?" Boy, I tell ya, I could recognize that face in hell." 

Jade walked inside and asked the receptionist for a haircut. 

"I understand I don't have an appointment...," she started.   
"Oh, don't worry. He'll only be a minute. You can sit and wait." 

Jade thanked the woman, picked up a magazine and sat down. On the other side of the street, three men were eagerly talking, with many more joining in. 

"No shit?" asked Paulie.   
"Nope, I swear on my sweet mother's grave," Louie said.   
"Alright, I don't want stuff like her comin' into my town," said Paulie, who was greeted with a number of comments from the others that were standing around. "Lemme get my gun."   
"Don't bother. She can't get hurt like that," Louie warned.   
"Whadda ya mean `she can't get hurt like that'?" asked Vinny. "Everyone gets hurt when ya shoot `em."   
"Not her. I think she's one of them mutants we've been seeing on TV," Louie said.   
"Huh. Whatever she is, she's gonna have to leave," said Paulie, cocking his shotgun.   
"I tells ya, she ain't gonna die with your fuckin' shotgun. I was usin' a double barrel, for God's sake," he said again, desperately. "Youse ain't gonna hurt her wit that."   
"Yea, well, at least we're gonna slow `er down some," said Paulie shoving another bullet on the gun and cocking it again. He grinned toothly at the others, Louie sighed.   
"Yo, John, tell everybody and don't leave nobody off, ya hear? We're huntin' mutants tonight." 


	3. Untitled 3

17. The X-Men arrived at the location Tom had found. It was a clearing two miles away from the beach Jade woke up. Cyclop's team took up the north section, which consisted of a couple of trees and a town, while Xavier's team searched the south area, which had a beach a truck stop and a small town. Logan, Tom and Jeff were left alone to search wherever. Each member had with them a communicator that allowed them connect with each other. 

Logan tried searching the woods but her scent was nowhere to be found. 

"This is stupid!" he complained. "I'm callin' Chuck."   
"She must've come from the water so we need to check the beach," Jeff said.   
"Chuck," Logan said in the communicator.   
"Yes?" came the answer.   
"Check the truck stop, we'll take the beach."   
"Great, things will go smoother this way." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

18. Quite a mob had formed in the five minutes that Jade spent waiting for the only hairdresser in the salon to finish his last appointment of the day, every member on it angry and hurtful. The events in New York City had taken its toll on the rest of the country, small town folks especially. Knowing that mutants might seek solitude and calm, small towns have been weary of strangers and visitors. As news spread out of Jade's presence, the habitants of Verona Beach jumped at the opportunity of protecting their loving town of the mutant infestation that had landed on the country. 

"Right this way, Ms. Jade," said the hairdresser.   
"Just Jade, thanks," she answered.   
"And what can I do for you today, Jade?"   
"Well, I'd like to have it shorter."   
"Oh, dear, you should. Look at all that hair and with summer coming and all, whoo, you'll fell much better without all of it," he said. 

As he was preparing his tools, a noise outside distracted him. 

"Sylvia, what's going on out there?" he said.   
"Looks like a mob. I don't see what's the noise all about....Oh, dear, they're heading this way."   
"Alright, you freak, come out or we're taking you out," Paulie cried out, gun in hand, ready to fire.   
"What are they talking about?" the hairdresser said. 

Jade swallowed dryly, as sweat started breaking on her forehead. She had a gut feeling they meant her, but she didn't want to mention that aloud. She fearfully got up from her chair and stood in the middle of the salon. Paulie and his cousins stormed the salon and pointed their guns at Jade. She whimpered back, but made no intention of attacking them. She knew when she was outmatched; with her full powers and memory, she would've been able to defeat those guys with a single move, but now she had no idea of what to do. 

As the three men overpowered her, two dark figures watched for the top of a building. 

"We really should help her, you know?" said Gambit, eyeing his teammate.   
"I know, but nothing good ever happens in this town. Oh, come on, let me just have fun for a second!" Pyro complained.   
"All right, but if the chere dies, you'll have to answer to Magneto."   
"Alright, fun's over, let's go save 'er." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

19. Inside the shop, Jade was pinned to a wall with two people beating her. She blocked nearly all the punches by instinct, but one escaped her and landed on her face. As a trickle of blood streamed down from her nose, she rushed toward her attacker but he backed away. A gunshot was heard and Jade was back against the wall holding her shoulder. 

"We won't have youse attackin' none o' out friends, mutie," Paulie said, as Jade growled and stared at him. "Alright, bring 'er outside. We're gonna teach 'er a lesson." 

Two people grabbed her arms while two others grabbed her legs. She fought and kicked and screamed as they dragged her outside; not even at gunpoint, she stopped throwing a fit. Paulie showed no mercy and squeezed the trigger again. He shot at point-blank at Jade's stomach. She howled in pain and the four men dropped her. They looked up at Paulie, gasping half in wonder, half in fear. 

"What are you lookin' at?" asked Paulie. 

The villagers looked at each other unsure of what they had just done. They knew that they didn't like mutants but murdering one that was a different thing altogether. They were all accomplices on it now. They looked down at the young woman who gasped for breath. Louie grabbed her arm and dragged her outside knowing that she was going to better at any time. As they stepped outside, two guys, one with a long coat and red hair, while the other had orange-reddish hair and a weird-looking outfit. The latter used his gloves to produce frightening flames. 

Louie dropped the girl, who knelt down; she tried doing the same thing she had before but the pain wasn't going anywhere this time. Her energy was sort of drained too. 

"Who are you?" asked Paulie putting up his gun, as Louie sort of backed away.   
"Well, that's not nice. You should really introduce yourself first," said Gambit, lighting up a card. 

The woman started puffing and gasping for breath. She started getting up. Her eyes were void of any feelings, even the depth or the light that shows that someone is indeed alive was gone. This new person looked definitely lifeless and surely deadly. 

She stood up and grabbed the shotgun with her right hand. With the left she reached for Paulie's face. The skinny, transformed hand slowly approached him, who wouldn't move from fright. 

"Don't let her touch you," Vini cried pushing Paulie out of the way. 

Like a siren's song her deadly, empty eyes met his, making him stop in his tracks. She reached for him and slowly touched his skin. Vini screamed loudly then gagged, as his whole life force transferred to her. 

"Die, you worthless insect!" a horrid voice called out through her. 

Paulie woke up from his trance and saw what she was doing to his cousin. Automatically, he pulled the trigger to the shotgun. The shot went right through her leg, getting a piece out. 

Her scream pierced the night, going from low and guttural to high and feminine. She was back. 

She looked around wildly, though the throbbing pain wouldn't let her see anything. Gambit pulled his fighting stick and knocked the man out before he could react. Pyro kept the others back with his flames. 

As Gambit reached down to help her, she grabbed him by the collar and flung him away. 

"Whoa! Ow," he groaned as he reached the ground.   
"What the..? Hey, lady, we're trying to he....whooooa!" Pyro said, she had reached into her dormant telekinetic powers and threw him far next to Gambit. 

She, then, transformed her body and traveled through the ground to the place the two had landed. She stood in front of the two young men; the long coat Creed had given her blew eerily in the wind. A storm settled on the horizon bringing news that the showdown was about to start. The people were way too frightened to come out of the store, so she raised her arm to it and started making the wall close in. Terrified, the people rushed off to the street. 

"Watch the master at work, boys," she said in that same weird voice, now becoming more like her own, and chuckled evilly. 

Gambit swallowed hard and looked at Pyro, who returned the look. 

She raised her arms and started swirling them around, palms out. Underneath a man, the floor swirled in rhythm to her hands. 

"Buh-bye," she said, and rapidly brought her arm up. 

From the floor came a huge spike that crossed through him. The man uttered his last gasp and died. Everyone looked astonished at the poor man. The floor swirled underneath Jade's next victim now. Suddenly, everyone got terrified. What had they done? What horrible beast had they awakened? 

They ran around amok, crying and screaming. 

"Music to my ears," she smiled. 

She started raising her hands faster and faster, and, with the same voracity, spikes started popping up from the ground, killing everyone. 

"I've gotta stop her," said Gambit.   
"Forget it, mate. Let's just get outta here." 

They ran, but she turned and raised one hand towards them, with it two tentacles followed, getting them by the waist and wrapping around them. Slowly, they came back to the place they were before. 

She turned around again and smiled, her dead eyes had an evil fire deep within them. 

"You came to save me," she said. "That's something I won't forget. However, unlike me, you can get hurt easily, so allow me to return the favor."   
"That's alright, you don't have to," Pyro said. 

A spike popped up close to him and pierced a plump woman. He recoiled and shuttered, as he watched the woman gag. 

"She's nuts..." he mumbled.   
"They're innocent people," Gambit screamed.   
"Innocent? Have you seen what they did to my poor Faye? She didn't even know what she was, and yet, they treated her like a dog. Do you really think that if I don't exterminate these filthy animals, they are going to leave _you_ alone? What about _me_? And what about _Faye_?"   
"But...," Gambit tried again.   
"She is right, you know," Magneto said. "Release them."   
"Magneto...Do you think I'll just forget what you've done to my Genie? Almost screwed up her plans, left her...me...for dead. Now how can I repay you for all that?" 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

20. Logan walked around the beach and caught a scent. She smelled like fish, but it was her all right. Rain started pouring and the wind blew wildly, bringing them a warning. Logan sniffed around and shuttered; it smelled like death. 

"What's that way?" he asked. 

Tom checked the map, following the road carefully with his finger. 

"Verona Beach. It's a very small town close to where Xavier and his team are heading."   
"Jeff, you have the communicator?" he asked and Jeff nodded. "Call 'em and tell 'em to stay away from there."   
"What's wrong?"   
"The wind...it smells like blood. Death is close, and wherever Faye is..."   
"Death follows," concluded Tom. "Get the bikes and let's go there." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

21. "Join me," Magneto said.   
"What for? So you can turn on me like you've done to your daughter?" she said watching with satisfaction his surprise look. "Oh, yeah, I know about that."   
"Makes no difference to me. I won't betray you."   
"Liar, liar...," she sang.   
"Well, I'll make you a deal them. I've just seen Logan, with your friends Jeff and Thomas, heading this way. You join me and I'll let you take care of them, plus you'll have people to kill nearly everyday."   
"Sounds promising; however, you'll have to strip this blasted metal off her skeleton. I don't want you having any more control over me than what is absolutely necessary. And, I want the scythe back."   
"She's crazy, ya know," Sabretooth growled. "She ain't safe and she ain't someone you'd trust."   
"You just want Logan all to yourself, but I know the way you can do the most damage without lifting a finger. I don't need to touch him to make him suffer the most, just letting him know that she's suffering is enough. I know how much you hate him, and he needs to go because he makes her weak."   
"I hate you too," he shouted.   
"One thing you have to understand, my hairy friend, is that I am neither Faye nor Daniel, and at the same time I am both of them, plus a third, and a fourth... I am an entity that doesn't possess form, sex, carcass, or conscience. I am ethereal, and as such, I cannot be killed or contained. I am pure power, driven by anger and encouraged by the hatred of everything that has happened to both of them in all their lives and in the world. You will have to trust me, because I am....I _was_...Zhar and my word is law."   
"What? Zhar>" Sabretooth gasped.   
"Eons ago, two mutants were born, the first ever, one in each opposing, but reflective, dimension. While my brother was contained, I ruled. My powers, however, were that of a parasite. I couldn't destroy or even sustain myself without getting energy from others. When my agents finally caught Faye, I saw in her the most powerful weapon ever created, and my way out of my energy problem. Though I forced the research, these normal mortals stumbled upon the biggest creation they could have ever imagined. Logan came later, looking for her. I allowed them to stay together as long as Kaillah, as she became known on our world, was happy and did my bidding. But they became restless, they wanted to leave, and be happier. I couldn't stop her or him. The only way out was to gain all her abilities through the same process she gained all her abilities from other mutants. As long as I could fight against my enemies with her powers, I'd be safe and both dimensions would be mine. But Daniel spoiled my plans.   
"He had survived within her after all these years. Using his telepathic powers, he pulled me inside her and I was trapped too. I lost myself within her, and year after year, I waited until one day I could be free. So I'm no longer Zhar, I'm their rage, and their fears, their dark side, as well as the dark sides of all that have been depleted by her. And I am now free, free to just kill. I've given up all humanity, all that I created and all that I was...gone," his voice started changing into Faye's melted in with Daniel's voice. "I've no will of my own anymore, no voice, no thoughts...only madness. And it's this madness that drives me to the fullest. And what is all this for? To one purpose and one purpose alone...revenge. I want to make her suffer; I want her to pay with her own happiness, and her own sanity. I want Faye, Daniel, and Logan pay. And that's where you come in, right, furball? And you, Magneto, will help me train, won't you?"   
"As long as you help me in my own quest."   
"Very well," it finally said. "It seems our guests have arrived. Let's prepare for their reception, shall we?" 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

22. Logan stopped the bike just outside the town. Tom, who had Jeff on the back, did the same. They got out and walked near the entrance. 

"Brr...," Tom shuttered.   
"Yeah, I know. Death's in the air. She's here though," Logan said. 

They started walking, but Jeff stopped them. 

"Don't go in," he said, shaking.   
"What's wrong?" Tom asked.   
"It's too gruesome. I can't go in there, I wouldn't be able to block the images and my powers would be useless...or worse, destructive."   
"Alright, I'll go in alone. Get away from the entrance, and call the others. Tell 'em ta stay away too," Logan said.   
"I want to go in too," Tom said.   
"No. Ya can't run, ya can't fight, not in yer condition anyway. Best ya get him outta here. I'll take care of 'er."   
"Logan, get her back, please," Tom begged.   
"Don't worry," he said, going in on foot. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

23. It awaited his coming. The wind blew the coat in an eerie way and thick rain started pouring. The woman's hair started getting soaked and glued to her head and neck. 

She was standing in the middle of the road with spiked people all around the sides. She faced the town's entrance but her she looked down at her feet. 

Slowly, but steadily, it felt Logan's presence coming towards it. It smiled widely, the girl too, as his energy got stronger and stronger. 

Logan looked at all the lifeless bodies around him. The sight turned his stomach and made him feel light-headed. Loudly, he allowed a *SNIKT* to be heard. 

"_No powers, remember,_" Xavier had said.   
_I doubt there's anyone left alive in this town to notice it,_ Logan thought. 

He spotted her shape, but fought the urge to break into a run and hug her. Instead, he started walking faster, still with his claws extended. He stopped in front of her and waited. A few long seconds passed by, and the woman raised her head slowly. Her body seemed to feel heavy now; she looked around, puzzled. She couldn't remember a thing, but her head ached like hell. She looked up at the man standing in front of her, her eyes lit up; she recognized his face. 

"I...," she muttered and raised her hands and grasped her head.   
_I can't remember his name,_ she thought desperately. _I know I know him, but I can't remember._

She closed her eyes trying to find it; trying to find the way home. To her surprise, she felt two hands on her shoulders. She looked up and her eyes met his, she really _did_ know him. He pulled her close to him and hugged her tightly. 

Suddenly, she was home. Salty, warm tears streamed down her face into his shirt, as she wrapped her arms around him. He could feel her pain, and she, his joy. She started shaking and hiccupping, so he held her tighter. She pulled away, gently to look at him; he kissed her forehead and then her warm lips. They were waiting a long time for this, and for a brief moment, they were one. 

Behind them a figure waited, full of hatred and anger for the loss of his friends and family. 

Logan pulled away to look at his beloved, but all he found was her face twisted with pain. They were so distracted that they didn't hear the bullet being shot, the bullet that Daniel was barely able to stir away from Faye's heart, the bullet that would've ended it all. From above them, Sabretooth jumped down and clawed her back. He picked her up and threw her far away. The man who fired the shot was long gone by now, so it allowed her body to remain down. 

"You! Ya're always in the way, eh?" Logan snarled. 

Sabretooth smiled widely as Logan suffered. He held out his hand, stopping Logan from attacking; with the other, he pulled out a locket by the chain. 

"She's mine now...," he said, triumphantly.   
"You've always wanted 'er."   
"Wrong, like always." 

Logan went to punch him, but he dodged it, kneeling Logan in the stomach. 

"Another time," he said, though he wanted to rip him to shreds. 

Logan growled, but Sabretooth was already going up, being raised by an unseen force. He watched him go up, helplessly; then, Sabretooth chucked the locket to him. 

"Remember her promise?" he provoked. 

He remembered. she had promised that as long as she still had this locket, she would always come back to him; and, good or bad, she always did come back. He looked for her, but she wasn't there anymore. Suddenly, she appeared in front of him. Her eyes looked dead, and a wicked smile crossed her lips. She started towards him but he recoiled, not even her scent was the same. She continued walking towards him, as he backed up some more. 

"Up in flames," she said, her voice sounding like nothing more than a hiss.   
"Wha...?"   
"Up in flames...heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh....up in flames, up in flames, up in flames, up in flames........UP IN FLAMES!"   
"What the hell are ya blabbin' 'bout? Ya're completely nuts," Logan said.   
"Am I? You still love me, doncha?" she reached for his face.   
"I love Faye, not ya, whatever ya are," he said, recoiling again. 

She giggled evilly. 

"Up in flames," she whispered.   
"Whatcha fuckin' talkin' 'bout?" 

She pointed up. Above them, Pyro was hovering around in a big, metal plate. 

_**Run, Logan. Save yourself**_, Faye's familiar voice came into his head.   
_**Not without ya. I'd rather die than leave you here suffering, ya'll die, eh?**_ he answered.   
"But I'm already dead, my love," she said, touching the hair on his forehead. 

Chills went down his spine. Her touch was deathly cold. He turned away and walked out, as Pyro madly lit up the night sky and turned the village into a big bonfire, one that people would talk about for years to come. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

24. Tom heard Logan's bike roaring. He was very close and, from the sound of it, he wasn't slowing down. He stood up as straight as possible and directed his powers towards it. Just as he could enhance any machine, he could just as easily power it down. 

Within minutes, Logan was seen pushing the bike up the hill, muttering a number of curse words. Tom could hardly contain a smile at the sight. 

Logan turned off the bike and parked it a short distance from him; he, then, walked up to Tom and smacked his right fist into Tom's nose, who lost his balance and fell gripping his nose. Logan grabbed Tom by the shirt and put his extended claws to his neck. The others didn't move, but they had to get Logan away from Tom. 

"Next time ya mess 'round with my bike, I'll mess ya up so bad, Hank ain't never gonna be able to put ya back together, got that, bub?" he growled at Tom. 

Tom swallowed hard, but looked defiantly at Logan. Something he had learned with Faye was to never show fear and never back down. 

"Where's Faye?" he asked. 

Logan snarled and pressed his claws on. Scott and some of the other guys walked up to get him away, and Jean held him with her telekinesis. Ororo and Rogue helped Tom to his feet. 

"Logan, calm down," Professor Xavier asked. 

But he just looked away. He shoved his hands in his pockets and found Faye's locket. He wanted to chuck it far away, but something deep inside him told him to keep it. He walked to his bike, got on and started it. 

"Where is SHE?" Tom raised his voice.   
"Dead! She's dead, ok?" Now leaVE ME ALONE!!!!" he shouted over the roaring of the bike, which was his pride and joy, his companion when no one was around. 

He sped off, alone. He needed to get away, he didn't know if that was really the best thing he could've done, but it was the only thing he could think of. First Yuki and now Faye, they were both gone... 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

25. The X-men watched helplessly, unsure of what to do or how to help, as Logan, who they cared for so much, sped away. For a while, they wouldn't see him again... 

~*TO BE CONTINUED*~ 


End file.
